Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Just keeping everyone in the loop. Working on getting a video together for the Kickstarter while awaiting the paperwork for the LLC and freelancer contracts from my attorney. Hopefully within a few weeks I'll be ready to launch the Kickstarter and get Shadows & Masks out the door!

Meanwhile I'm plugging away at several freelance projects plus some staff work for Troll Lord Games. These include a Fifth Edition Book of Familiars and Companions that is currently in Kickstarter itself. I'm also working on getting those miniatures battle rules for the O.R.C.S. system complete so I can get those playtested and released.

I plan to get a few adventure modules for Spellcraft & Swordplay contracted, written, edited and out the door as well. There are irons in the fire, but we've announced a few things that never came to pass, so I'm going to play it all close to the vest for the time being till we have things about ready to release.

For fans of Spellcraft & Swordplay, we're not going to let it rot--my eventual goal is to do a full second edition of the game, cleaned up and updated for things we've learned over the past six years of play.

That's about it for now. Remember to follow us over on Facebook for more information; I'll have a Twitter account for Elf Lair up soon as well!

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Big news, in the pipeline, folks! As you all have doubtless noticed, Elf Lair Games has languished in some degree of obscurity for several years, now, as I've pursued other projects. Well, a lot of things have come together recently that have put me in a position to make some big announcements.

Elf Lair Publishing will soon launch our new quarterly periodical, Shadows & Masks,
a literary magazine in the style of the old dime novels, penny
dreadfuls and pulps of the late 19th through mid-20th century. Featuring
a stories, poetry and articles in a wide variety of genres from authors
both new and established, we're looking to bring short-form pulp-style
genre fiction back to the general public! Watch for the Kickstarter
coming soon. I've already got a couple outstanding artists signed on for
covers for issues 1-3, and industry names like Bill Coffin (Formerly of
Palladium Books)and Steven Long (of Hero Games) are planned as featured
fiction for the inaugural issue.

Along with the new magazine will come a redesign and re-branding of the website. Elf Lair Games and its (new) sister line, Elf Lair Publishing, will both be grouped under the umbrella of Elf Lair, LLC.
I've had discussions with my attorney about getting us set up
officially as an LLC and launching as a full-fledged business. We are
excited about this development and will keep you posted as things
progress!

In terms of our game line, I've just had some
discussions with one of my silent partners about getting a line of old
school adventure modules and smaller game products rocking soon, and I'm
working on a set of miniatures (mass combat and skirmish) rules which
will be powered by O.R.C.S. and compatible with S&S. If you know the
history of S&S, you'll know the inspiration for these rules as
well.

Things happened fast and all of a sudden (as they do) and
big developments are on the horizon, so keep it here and spread the
word!

Thursday, December 31, 2015

You know, it strikes me that the best stuff from Elf Lair Games is stuff I just piddle around with and decide, "What the Hell?" That's how Spellcraft & Swordplaycame to be, after all. It was originally just a thought experiment based around how OD&D was intended to use Chainmail combat, and before I knew what had happened, I'd drafted a pretty unique and individual yet still old-school feeling, game. It's been popular enough, too. Without me pushing it or putting out constant support materials, it's still selling copies here and there.

I shudder to think what could've happened when it was still on peoples' radar if I had the wherewithal at the time to actually make a go of it.

Ah, well. Missed opportunities and all that.

Anyway, it looks like we're coming up on our next new major release. I've been putzing around with some rules for a...thing. A Fantasy thing. Which should go nicely with S&S, and which is already hinted at in the core book. As with S&S itself, it started as something I just wanted to muck with, by way of, "how's this supposed to work?" and quickly turned into, "If I tweak this and clarify that and make a little change here...oh. I've got a new game."

Anyway, it's been awhile since I had anything to report...a LONG while. So I just thought I'd pop in with a note that something's coming. As always Elf Lair is a side thing for me, a venue to throw out some stuff I'm playing with that other publishers probably won't be interested in, because they've got their own thing going. So it's not the beginning of any sort of major ramp up. But for those of you who are already fans (there's what? a dozen or so of you?) you should hopefully dig this.

The working title is Magic & Mayhem. Not overly clever, I'll give it to you. It'll probably change, especially since I've already got Monstrous Mayhemas an S&S sourcebook.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Only a couple more days left in the AA Kickstarter, folks! We're officially
down to counting HOURS, now, and are only 12 backers away from $200!
Check the Kickstarter--we have unveiled a TON more really cool stretch
goals! Let's see if we can hit $21,000 in 2 days!!!

Science, sorcery, pugilistic pummeling, gun-toting, sword-wielding, B17-flying, gadget carrying adventure. Own it, and support Elf Lair Games in the process!

How, you ask? Well, the proceeds I earn from this game are at least partially going to fund future endeavors for ELG. So help us out and support the kickstarter!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Well, folks, we've got less than 6 days remaining in the Kickstarter and a long way to go, still, to hit that all-important $21K stretch goal. I want more than anything to see all three of these books in hardcover, and I think that people are going to like the Companion enough that they'll be disappointed in it being only softcover.

So, while we're funded for the core book in hardcover and the Manual of Monsters and Companion to be produced in softcover, WE STILL NEED YOUR SUPPORT. Please consider pledging, or sharing the link around. Help a starving game designer!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Regarding the Amazing Adventures Kickstarter, some of you may have noticed an extra
"S" in the 10K stretch goal. Steve and Jason were talking last night
and have decided to do a little something extra: When we open that
door, anyone at the $99 or above level will get 2 Amazing Adventures
Players books for your table. And -- hint, hint -- expect a few more
secret doors to be popping up. :-)

We also have a little bit of a
challenge put forth by Steve and the TLG Trolls. We currently are at
about $8,300 now. IF we make $10,000 by Friday (midnight), everyone at
the $99 or above level will get a digest sized copy of the Amazing
Adventures Core book! So if you are considering adding more, or
changing your pledge, now is the best time.

And if you can help spread
the word about it, we'd appreciate it. Here's a link you can share for
the Kickstarter: http://bit.ly/amazingrpg

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

I haven't been around for some time, folks. For that I apologize. I hope
to rectify that in the future--life has been too crazy of late.

However, I'm back and pleased to announce that Troll Lord Games has launched the kickstarter for Amazing Adventures Second Print! What is Amazing Adventures?
It is Pulp Siege! The newest core game powered
by Troll Lord Games' celebrated SIEGE engine (this is what runs Castles & Crusades). It allows you to create any
type of pulp adventure hero you want, and customize them as you like!
Be it arcane scholars, mentalists, tomb-raiding archaeologists, Asian
martial arts masters, or gangsters and G-Men, this game has you
covered. And best of all, if you're a fan of Castles & Crusades,
you can pick this game up and get playing in a matter of minutes!
Inside this book you'll find:

• Eight brand new character classes: Arcanist, Gadgeteer, Gumshoe, Hooligan, Mentalist, Pugilist, Raider, and Socialite
• Character customization options: Generic Class Abilities, Traits,
Backgrounds, Fate Points, Pulp Costumes, Sanity Rules, and more!
• The complete SIEGE engine rules, adapted to use a single Challenge Base
• Rules for vehicular combat
• Guidelines on how to run a pulp game
• A rogue's gallery of foes, pre-generated characters, NPCs, and a
ready-made adventuring society to get you up and running fast
• A complete starting adventure for 4-6 new pulp heroes
• And tons more

The Amazing Adventures Kickstarter!
We want the
Amazing Adventures core rulebook out in Hardcover and Kickstarter is
the platform to make that happen. With you on board we can not only put
AA out in hardcover but we can, with a little hard work, add Amazing
Monsters to the mix and the next release in the series: The Amazing
Adventures Companion, filled with all manner of new material, from
classes to vehicles and more.

If we hit our funding goal, the
core rulebook will be in Hardcover. We also hope to get both the Manual
of Monsters and Amazing Adventures Companion through stretch goals. We
feel very strongly that if we hit $20K we can meet those goals and have
all three in Hardcover!

The great news is that after a soft open
this weekend, we already hit our base funding goal! However, since our
public opening, pledges have dropped off a bit. Help us get the word out
and reach that $20K goal!!!

Even if you can't contribute, it would be awesome if you could spread the word. Thanks!